Summary: "The more he thought about it, the stranger it became... No, this teapot story made no sense... What if it was a cartel cover? Under the teapot gathering, maybe tons of "rare teas" were hidden. And by "rare tea" he meant shit like... what, meth? Clandestine meth smuggling? Although wary, Kuroo had still decided to go to the indicated address, just for reconnaissance...
Damn, what was he getting himself into?"
CATO 6: CATO
After much hesitation, Kuroo finally decided to attend the meeting arranged by Sugawara two days earlier. After all, perhaps the Club of Amiable Teapot Owners was an entirely thrilling community? Since the designated location was just around the corner from the university, Kuroo decided to go directly to this mysterious gathering, before he could change his mind. After classes, he spent the rest of his afternoon at the library, accompanied by his faithful Chris. He had actually considered asking Chris to join him but thought better of it. He preferred to scout things out first, no need to involve the young man in this. On second thought, he should have talked to him about it; maybe Chris knew the rules of teapot ownership? Oh, wait, he wasn't British...
The more he thought about it, the stranger it became... No, this teapot story made no sense... What if it was a cartel cover? Under the teapot gathering, maybe tons of "rare teas" were hidden. And by "rare tea" he meant shit like... what, meth? Clandestine meth smuggling? Although wary, Kuroo had still decided to go to the indicated address, just for reconnaissance...
Damn, what was he getting himself into?
Expecting to come across an old warehouse, imagine his surprise when he found himself in front of a small ramen restaurant: O2 Ramen. A strange name for a ramen restaurant; Kuroo wondered what oxygen molecules had to do with such a business... The broth, perhaps ? One could believe they were taking a breath of air ? An unrequited love for chemistry? Molecular gastronomy experience? In any case, the place, which looked charming nonetheless, was indeed closed.
The hours on the side indicated that the establishment was not open in the evening on weekdays. He reread the address on the paper he was still holding. He went up the street, went down it again, but everything seemed to indicate that the little restaurant was indeed his destination. He stood there, hesitating to knock on the window. The place seemed deserted. He should have asked Sugawara for his number; at least he would have known how to get in. And now that he thought about it, he felt weird about going inside, not knowing what to expect and not knowing anyone. Maybe he should just leave... But damn, he was way too intrigued now to turn back. He leaned in again to look through the window.
"Oi, Kuroo-san!"
Startled, Kuroo jumped and almost hit his head on the window. Damn it, this guy needed to stop surprising him like that! He turned around, and it was no surprise to find Sugawara smiling at him with all his teeth. What surprised him, however, was to discover that the latter was accompanied by a tall, well-built brunet, and Kuroo was relieved that he hadn't made any questionable jokes when his gaze fell on their joined hands.
"Yo," he simply said.
"Glad to see you came! Let me introduce you to my mate, Sawamura Daichi."
"Nice to meet you, Kuroo-san!" greeted the young man, a jovial smile on his lips.
Kuroo returned the greeting.
"Likewise," he turned to Sugawara "I understand why you didn't want me to call you Daddy."
Fuck, he really couldn't help himself.
The concerned party gave him a stern look; his mate let out a hearty and loud laugh.
"I said not in public!"
The remark only intensified Sawamura's laughter. Suga eventually turned a somewhat amused but resigned look towards his companion.
"And you find this funny ?"
"Please don't punish us, Otto-san." Kuroo intervened mischievously.
For the first time ever, he saw the silver-haired start to blush. Rolling his eyes, he passed them both.
"Come on, let's go!"
Sawamura and he exchanged a brief glance before following him. They circled around the small restaurant to arrive in a tiny dark alley. Suga stopped in front of a small wooden door, and on it, a sheet of paper was taped crookedly, "CATO" written on it with a marker. No wonder he hadn't found it earlier! Sugawara opened the door, revealing a "charming", dark, and narrow staircase, not the least bit intimidating! Sugawara and his mate entered without much concern; Kuroo stood still in front of the first step for a few seconds. The "tea" smuggling plot wasn't out of his mind yet.
"Kuroo-san?" Sawamura called out when he realized the brunet wasn't following them.
"We're really going into a basement?" Kuroo decided to ask.
"Oh yes, don't worry, our friends own the restaurant above; they've arranged the basement, you'll see, it's nice."
Oh yeah, nice, for sure...
Wait, owners of a restaurant and a basement in Tokyo? Seriously? Na, wait...
Hum... After all, it could be a family inheritance, nothing to worry about...
Kuroo shook his head; he needed to stop always wander off-road like this in his own mind. He had always had the unfortunate tendency to do that, but it had gotten worse when he moved to Tokyo. His record had been staying 65 minutes in front of the library door wondering if he wouldn't have been better off going directly to buy the books; after all, independent bookstores needed to make their sales!
Kuroo vaguely nodded and decided to follow them. Fragments of voices, laughter, and music began to reach him with each step. Well, they were moving away from the illicit trafficking atmosphere, but it wasn't exactly what he expected from "teapot owners" either. Once downstairs, he joined Sawamura and Suga, who were waiting for him in front of a small wooden door.
"Welcome to CATO !" Sugawara announced, opening the door.
Kuroo followed him inside and discovered, not without relief, that the basement had been indeed arranged to create a welcoming and cozy place. The room was illuminated by a warm orange light, a few tables were scattered around, and some young adults gathered in discussions that their entrance had not interrupted in the least. Some slightly worn but still seemingly comfortable armchairs were arranged in circles, an old sofa, a few pillows. On the other side of the room, a bay window opened on a little courtyard, the declining lights of the day barely visible due to the buildings encircling it.
"Ta-da!" announced the silver-haired one cheerfully.
"I... didn't expect this..."
"Yeah, I might have been a tad too enigmatic but well, let me introduce you and then..."
And then ? Nothing.
Intrigued, Kuroo turned around. It was with deep confusion that he discovered Sugawara standing there, frozen, his gaze fixed on something in front of him.
"Uh... Suga?"
No response. But his intervention caught Sawamura's attention, who had moved away earlier to put away their things.
"Oh darn," he simply said, not at all concerned about the very alarming state in which his mate found himself,
"Uh, you should step back, Kuroo-san."
The latter complied without really understanding what was going on. Suga still didn't move. Kuroo followed his gaze. Much to his surprise, his eyes landed on someone he had no trouble recognizing: his diva, well, the diva. The young man next to said diva locked eyes with Kuroo as he turned his head, then turned to Sugawara. Without his face showing any emotion, he detached his arm from the diva's hips and stepped back.
"You've been spotted." he said.
The diva, intrigued, turned around as well.
"Oh, not again?" commented a voice somewhere in the room.
What was happening exactly?
Sugawara and the diva were now facing each other, their eyes locked on each other. The diva didn't bat an eye, and an annoyed cat growl escaped him. Kuroo, who really didn't know what was happening, turned to Suga again. The growling didn't scare him at all. On the contrary, judging by the huge smile on his lips, it seemed to make him euphoric.
"Tōru!" the silver-haired blurted out, in something more like a yelp than a friendly greeting.
And without further ado, he threw himself at him. Fortunately, the poor souls behind them at that moment had the presence of mind to flee. After some messy struggles, the two oddballs fell onto the coach, which didn't stop their fight. Kuroo couldn't take his eyes off the scene, which seemed utterly astonishing to him.
"Um... What's happening exactly?"
"Idiotic alpha fight," commented the brunet who was earlier in the company of the diva.
"It's been, what? Two weeks since they last saw each other? they're unbelievable," said Sawamura, who seemed a bit bored.
Kuroo turned his gaze again to the ongoing battle. Sugawara was currently biting his opponent's sleeve, while the latter gave him quick little slaps with his free hand, still growling.
"Feels like I'm watching a pup fighting with an old grumpy cat." commented Kuroo.
He heard the two young men to his right laugh.
"Yeah, basically yeah" said Sawamura.
"Hajime! Help me!" pleaded the diva to his mate.
The concerned party just raised an eyebrow before crossing his arms.
"Sort out your belligerent alpha problems on your own."
"I'm not belligerent! It's him who..."
He tried a few kicks to free himself from his assailant's grip. In vain, as the latter took advantage to tighten his grip and bite into his shoulder this time.
They were finally interrupted when another growl made them stop. Kuroo turned his head to determine who this sound came from. His gaze fell on an individual to his right: a tall blond guy with glasses who looked thoroughly annoyed. His reaction, however, seemed to amuse the individual to his right, a young man with dark green hair falling in stray strands on his face and tied back in a loose bun.
"Tsukki, come on..."
Sugawara and the diva stared at each other for a long moment, dumbfounded, before bursting into laughter. They finally straightened up. Their respective mate decided to join them, and Kuroo followed suit.
"You suck," pouted the diva, elbowing his friend.
"Stop pretending; you're purring like crazy," remarked the silver-haired one.
It was true that underneath his old angry hen appearance, the diva's loud purring betrayed his joy. It was the first time Kuroo had heard someone purr... But after that absurd fight, nothing really surprised him anymore.
"You messed up my hair, damn it!" lamented the diva.
"Who care; you're ugly no matter what," flatly remarked the brunet, whom Kuroo thought until then was the diva's boyfriend. He suddenly had doubts.
Kuroo let out a chuckle, surprised by his comment.
"Iwa-chan, you're breaking my heart; I'm dying," the diva announced dramatically.
"Then die."
This time, the diva threw the shoe he was putting on straight at him.
Sugawara chuckled. He turned to Kuroo:
"Sorry for that... Um, let me introduce you, Oikawa Tōru and his mate, Iwaizumi Hajime," Suga quickly resumed, evidently wanting to avoid addressing what had just happened, even though it seemed to be a rather common event.
"Uh, Kuroo Tetsurō," greeted the brunet.
The three exchanged greetings, but when his gaze met the diva's, the latter bowed again:
"Thanks for the other day."
"Oh, it's nothing; thank you too," Kuroo replied.
"You guys know each other?" Sugawara asked, genuinely surprised.
"Yes, we're in the same class at uni," answered Oikawa.
"Oh! Nice!"
"Sorry, but I'm surprise to see you here," Oikawa intervened, turning his gaze towards him.
"Why is that?" Suga asked.
"Well, I don't know; are we sure we want some clueless beta? No offense, but it's true!"
He turned to the silver-haired "But you know, the guy who challenged me in front of the entire class without flinching while I was full aura, well, that was him."
Suga chuckled and turned to Kuroo :
"What did you do?"
"What did I do? Uh... Sorry, I didn't realize that..."
"Yes, I know; I figured out after a while that you absolutely didn't get it."
Sugawara burst into laughter.
"Challenging an alpha without even realizing it, that's something!"
Kuroo shrugged, not missing the chance to slide a smug smile on his lips.
"Anyway, glad you're here, Kuroo-san," Sawamura said, smiling
"We were starting to feel a little bit in minority here," added Iwaizumi.
Kuroo raised an eyebrow, not quite sure he was following.
"Daichi and Iwaizumi are betas too," Sugawara explained to him.
"Oh... ok."
Kuroo didn't really know what else to add. He wasn't used to discussing secondary sexes, and certainly not that openly. His brain was still processing the fight, the purring, and... full aura? What was that? He was starting to understand what Sugawara meant by "seeing how things work from the inside." Clearly, when it came to secondary sexes, he was completely lost. He couldn't believe he was raised in this world without taking the time to challenge his world view or dig deeper.
He hadn't even realized how many preconceived ideas he had before this. Having all his prejudices shattered made him realize he had never questioned them. He had always considered himself open-minded and slow to judge others. Realizing that wasn't necessarily the case was unsettling. He felt a bit ashamed for not doing it earlier. It was wake-up call but was also invigorating! He had so much to learn, and now he had the space to evolve, discover new things, and ask questions without fear.
He more or less understood that this little group that gathered on Thursday nights to play cards or chat over a beer was made up of misfits. A small group of pacifist rebels who didn't care what the universe thought of them. No one had presented it that way, but Kuroo understood. He understood because he had felt that way growing up when he realized he wasn't like all the boys in his class, and he had to accept himself. So yes, he understood that everyone ended up here because they might have had to tear themselves away from their homeland, their family, to live in peace, or simply because being surrounded by people who understand and support us without judging has something terribly euphoric.
He didn't really understand where Sugawara's kindness came from, but he was grateful because each member of the club he had met this evening had allowed him to learn more about this previously unknown world.
He met Nishinoya and Asahi, the owners of the place, a pair of omegas, two individuals with diametrically opposed personalities who seemed to complement each other perfectly.
Before, he might have thought that omegas were frail and delicate creatures... And then he met Asahi, and even though he seemed to be a very tender: frail, and delicate being, he wasn't. And his partner, Nishinoya, who approached more of the stereotypical omega build he had in mind, had a character more like that of a Boxer than anything else.
He met Hinata, probably the most adorable kid the earth had ever borne, with his little red-haired face and big smile. Hinata was deaf from birth, and yet Kuroo had rarely met someone as loud and bright as this kid. So Kuroo learned that you could be an alpha and be terribly adorable; one didn't exclude the other. His mate, Kageyama, was also an alpha, and even though he could speak, he was much less talkative than his companion and mostly just orally translated what Hinata was signing. Although Kuroo had interacted little with him, he had no doubt that he was a fairly good lad.
And then he was introduced to Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. Tsukishima turned out to be the tall blond who had audibly intervened to end the fight between Sugawara and Oikawa. The guy seemed bored, even disdainful when Sugawara introduced him. Kuroo couldn't help but let out a mischievous smile. Damn, how he was going to enjoy teasing this one. He had dealt with others (a.k.a his sisters), and he still enjoyed teasing kids like this. Yamaguchi, on the other hand, seemed to be a delightful young man, smiling, gentle-looking, with a face covered in freckles that gave him an innocent look. Yet Sugawara assured him to be wary of appearances and that in this pair of alphas, the more insolent of the two was not necessarily the one he thought.
They all welcomed him without asking questions.
Finally, Kuroo ended up getting an explanation about this Teapot ownership story. Nothing to do with teapot in reality, it was in fact a cover, allowing the club to more or less survive without arousing anyone's interest.
Kuroo smiled when they finally revealed what this acronym meant. Because he could see that it perfectly defined the atmosphere and composition of this strange group.
CATO: Club of Adorable Troublesome Outcasts.
That was well said.
-/-
Kuroo never would have thought that the mere idea of a warm shower could make him so deeply euphoric. But here he was, fretting over the idea of having said hot shower in a uni gymnasium at 7 in the morning.
For the occasion, he had gotten up at the crack of dawn without complaining, put on his sweatsuit, stuffed some clothes into a backpack, and left his apartment. What was supposed to be a simple, leisurely jog quickly turned into a sprint. He couldn't help it; the call of warm water was so strong! He ignored his muscles screaming in agony and his deflated lung alveoli, he needed this so damn much, and quickly.
The day before, while he got lost on campus trying to find his classroom, he stumbled upon a small gym, much smaller than the one located at the heart of the campus. It was almost hidden, as one had to stray from the paths around Sanshiro Pond to get there. When he found this place, somewhere between charming and creepy, it inspired two things in Kuroo:
1. The place was so improbably located that it must be rarely frequented.
2. Gym means showers, and showers mean hot water.
Well, at least he hoped for hot water. The gym, although secluded, seemed to still be in use, judging by the schedules posted on the door.
That was enough to make him get up early enough to rush there.
The journey, which he would ordinarily have completed in thirty minutes, ended up taking only about fifteen minutes. Thinking that he hadn't sweated enough, he took the opportunity to run one more lap around the pond. The place was soothing, a small piece of nature in the heart of the city, where the silence and the lapping of the water were louder than all the noises around. The sun had just risen, and its rays gently touched the surface of the green water, as if to awaken the schools of carp sleeping within.
Then, he veered off the trail to find the way to the small gymnasium. When he finally arrived, he was out of breath, and feeling his skin moist with sweat brought a smile to his face: how amazing this shower was going to be! He prayed that the door wasn't locked, and his words must have been heard, or luck was simply on his side, because the gym was indeed unlocked. He stuck his head in, looked right, then left. Nothing but silence greeted him. So, he entered, closing the door behind him.
First mission: find the showers. To do so, a little exploration was in order. Luckily, the place was rather small, so there weren't much to explore. He crossed the court and couldn't help but smile seeing the nets still set up in the center. He finally reached the door on the other side. He had to hold back a small euphoric laugh when he recognized the logo indicating the showers. That's when things started to get complicated: first, he had to decide if he was a stick or a triangle. Oh, yes! The two genders: sticks and triangles, so obvious! After a few seconds of hesitation, he decided, or rather understood that he was probably a stick, and went through the swinging door. The misfortune sticked again as his trial didn't end there, as he was now faced with three doors above which were marked with Greek letters. He was okay with being a clueless beta, but this was even more disturbing than that weird geometry gender fuckery. He didn't really understand why the showers were separated but attributed it to his ignorance. Without asking further questions, he opened the door labeled "β".
He instantly fell in love when his eyes landed on dozens of small shower cabins, laying in front of him like the art piece they were. Has he ever seen such magnificent sight? No, probably not. He couldn't wait another second, and got rid of his clothes, scattering them behind him, not caring if someone walked in and found his boxers in the middle of the room. However, he took the time to grab his bathing essentials and, with a fluttering heart, entered a cabin and turned on the tap. He didn't even take the time to test the temperature and immersed himself under the water.
He couldn't help but let out a small moan of pure bliss when the hot water began to flow over his head, down his neck, over his shoulders, and to his feet, so warm that it almost burned his skin. To hell with molecular biology classes, he was going to stay under this water until his skin wrinkled like an old prune! After reactivating the water at least five times, he decided it was finally time to wash himself. He even took his body scrub, promising to make it a delightful experience! He started by grabbing his shampoo, took a good dollop to lather it into his hair. But just as he was about to reactivate the water jet to rinse, he stopped, his heart pounding: A voice had risen in the middle of the silence, bouncing off all the walls to amplify its volume.
"Is this real life?
Is this just fantasy,
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality"
Was there seriously someone, at 7 in the morning, singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" at the top of their lungs in the middle of the communal showers?
Yes, apparently. The person didn't sing badly per se; his enthusiasm and vocal range were rather impressive. But seriously, what the hell was going on?! Kuroo thought of his poor boxers, abandoned in the middle of the room... As for the singer, he probably hadn't noticed his presence yet.
Kuroo didn't dare to move and stood in the shower cabin, naked and with shampoo in his eyes, with the shower singer belting out in the background. Seriously, what was he going to do ? He couldn't stay like this forever! He was starting to feel cold !
Maybe with the volume, the singer wouldn't hear anything if he reactivated the water to rinse? As he was about to do so, he reconsidered when he heard the voice approaching him. Intrigued, he stuck his head out of the shower cabin: no one. It was someone behind the partition. A glance allowed him to understand that the top of his shower opened into the adjacent room. Partition my ass ! Slowly, he tiptoed, grabbed the edge, and hoisted himself up enough to see what was happening on the other side. He finally discovered who was behind this mysterious shower singer, and God, he didn't regret it. He had just laid eyes on, he was sure, the closest thing to a Greek god. The individual was half-naked, a towel fasten around his waist, revealing enough flesh to make the brunet's head spin. He blushed just at the distant sight of this beautiful Apollo. He couldn't see his face, just a mass of white hair interspersed with black strands that he shook under his hairdryer in rhythm with the song. Kuroo, too caught up in contemplation, realized too late that his hands were going to slip, and he couldn't hold back when the accident happened. The wet sound of his buttocks landing on the floor at a speed too high for comfort resonated throughout the room. The singing stopped abruptly, and silence fell. Damn, what was he going to do now?
"Uh... anyone here?" asked the beautiful Apollo on the other side of the partition.
Kuroo stayed silent. His butt was getting swollen, and he had shampoo in his eyes, but he remained silent. What could he do, announce himself? Yes, that would be easier... Or he could leave, unnoticed... No, he hadn't rinsed his hair yet; there was no way he would leave them like this, his hair integrity depended on it! He could always wait for the other to lose interest in him and leave.
"Is someone there?" the bathroom singer asked again.
Kuroo frowned; his voice had sounded less striking this time, wary, and almost fearful. Damn, he didn't necessarily want to turn Hercules's life into a Psycho's scene. So, he inhaled, and stated singing:
"Too late, my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine,
Body's aching all the time."
Hercules let out a chuckle, pleasantly surprised by his intervention, and started singing again:
"Goodbye, everybody,
I've got to go, Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth."
And at the top of their lungs, they shouted in unison:
"Mama ooh ooh ooh
I don't wanna die
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all."
Followed by the greatest guitar-voice duet humanity has ever witness. The rest was simply grandiose, each of them abandoning themselves to the music, forgetting that they were singing in duet with a total stranger, simply carried away by the excitement of the moment and the euphoria triggered by this song. The further they progressed in the lyrics, the more their voices became off-key. Kuroo didn't care and continued to sing at the top of his lungs.
When the last notes of the song died down, and silence extended again, they let it linger a bit longer, still a bit stunned by what had just happened. Eventually, they laughed in unison.
"Bro, you were so damn good" congratulated Hercules Mercury from the other side of the partition.
"You weren't bad either," replied the brunet.
"Pff... We'll have to do it again sometime !" Kuroo heard him tidy up his belongings " Well bro, see you around ! "
And that's how Hercules Mercury, the sexiest bathroom singer the Earth had ever borne, disappeared from his life.
"Oh, by the way, Bro, be careful. You're not supposed to be here during this time slot, but I won't say anything. Bye!"
The door slammed again.
Kuroo stood there for a while, with his hair still full of shampoo, a bruise preparing to form on his butt, and a silly smile on his face. He hoped for one thing only: that their paths crosse again. He wasn't going to forget about that Hercule Mercury anytime soon, that's for sure.
-/-
"Dude! I'm telling you, it was amazing! I do, hum, did not knew he was here! And then we start singing together!
Kuroo didn't wait before starting to narrate his picturesque adventure to Chris. As soon as he arrived in the auditorium, he rushed towards him to begin describing the scene he had just experienced, in a somewhat jumbled English that the blond seemed to understand perfectly.
"Sounds like you had fun Kuroo-san. Were you able to see him?"
"Yeah! Well kind of, I didn't see his face but…"
"Good looking?"
Kuroo, surprised, turned in the direction of the voice that had interrupted him. A slight smirk escaped him when he recognized Oikawa.
"A damn living god!" he replied, a slightly lascivious smile on his lips.
Oikawa raised an eyebrow, feigning disdain to conceal his amusement. He made a vague sweeping gesture with his hand to signal that Kuroo should move aside to make room for him. Kuroo complied, satisfied to see the diva mingling with the common folk. He caught Chris's gaze, surprised by such an occurrence.
"Oh, we're friends now!" the brunet informed him.
Oikawa clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes.
"Don't get cocky; we're barely acquaintances," retorted the interested party, in an English infused with a British arrogance that suited the character perfectly.
Despite the apparent disdain towards him, the diva settled beside him, beginning to unpack his belongings. He stopped when his gaze fell on Kuroo, who seemed ardently amused by the situation.
"Kuroo-san, are you aware that you look like a psychopath?"
The concerned one chuckled before retorting:
"Oikawa-san, are you aware that you look like a prick?"
The brunet glared at him before a more childlike expression of amusement spread across his features.
"I don't just look like one, and I take it as a compliment."
Kuroo couldn't help but burst into laughter, surprised by the comeback.
"You don't break that easily, do you?"
"Have you met my mate? I would be dead by now if my skin wasn't thick enough."
"Pff, yeah… He's tough…"
They exchanged a look that slowly approached complicity. Finally, Kuroo turned back to the blond.
"Chris, this is Oikawa-san."
"Nice to meet you, Oikawa-san," greeted the interested party, politely nodding his head.
"Oh, you speak Japanese?"
"A little, I'm trying to improve."
A little was an understatement. He managed quite well in fact. Chris and he had developed the habit of communicating in English, but over time, the transition between the two languages in their conversation was almost constant.
"I noticed your English is very good, Oikawa-san."
Kuroo raised an eyebrow, unsure where the desire to compliment the diva came from. Besides, he had never made such a remark to him!
"Oh, thank you," replied the chestnut-haired one, displaying a courtesy that Kuroo was not familiar with.
Silence settled in. Chris seemed to be holding back something. Or perhaps he was simply revising the syntactic construction of the sentence he was about to say.
"Oh, Oikawa-san, I apologize for the last time; we didn't mean to challenge you."
"It's nothing, I…"
Kuroo turned abruptly, not waiting for Oikawa to finish his sentence.
"You understood?"
"Uh, yes…"
Kuroo looked at his friend as if a third eye had suddenly sprouted in the middle of his forehead.
"But…"
"Not everyone is as clueless as you, Kuroo!"
The concerned party turned again, casting a disheartened look at the diva, who smiled.
"Chris! Please say something!"
The blond looked at him but seemed unresponsive. Instead, he decided to change the subject.
"You were telling me that you spy on people in the gym's showers."
Oikawa chuckled as Kuroo blushed, unable to find a comeback. Chris smiled at him, indicating that he was just teasing him. Under his disguise as a taciturn giant, Kuroo was beginning to discover that the guy was more playful than he initially thought.
"Fuck you, it was glorious, and I regret nothing!"
"Good, that's what matters the most," replied the blond with a sly smile. "What did you sing?"
"Oh, Bohemian Rhapsody!"
"Well-built and a good repertoire! You shouldn't have let him go," the diva added mischievously.
"Uh, I couldn't, he was in the next room… He also told me I wasn't supposed to be there, so I kept a low profile…"
Oikawa frowned, before letting out a slight mocking laugh.
"You really are a clueless beta, unbelievable…"
"What? Why? What did I do ?"
"Gyms are segregated, so the schedules are staggered."
Kuroo furrowed his brow, deeply puzzled.
"Uh… but it wasn't a girl, was it? Unless he thought so, I don't think that… Oh… you were talking about secondary sex…."
Oikawa and Chris nodded.
"But why are the schedules separated? I mean... I was already surprised that the showers were separated, that seem... extreme."
The diva shrugged.
"I don't know, what can I do if the administrators are big idiots?"
Kuroo was about to respond when the door at the bottom of the amphitheater slammed shut, and their biology professor made his appearance, quickly heading towards the stage while already unpacking his lecture. The brunet fell silent and finally took out something to write with. However, it took him several minutes to focus on the lecture, disconcerted by what he had just learned. When he finally managed to detach his mind from the question, it was images, albeit not conducive to serenity and concentration, that came to his mind. Fortunately, Oikawa's screen was right in his line of sight. He mechanically copied what he saw, while the rest of his neurons were busy with a much more pleasant task.
He wasn't about to forget this unlikely encounter anytime soon.
-/-
One of the things that surprised Kuroo the most when he arrived in Tokyo was that nature was never far away. Hard to believe when walking through the city center, crowded with skyscrapers and neon lights rather than life. In this metropolis where everything teemed, and nothing ever truly slept, there were, in fact, numerous hidden worlds.. Along a street bustling with yatai, one could find an old traditional house squeezed between two decrepit buildings, a temple in the middle of avenues, a pond bordered by ginkgo trees in the business district. The university was no exception, and amidst these neo-Gothic buildings and the remnants of a few traditional structures, these pockets of nature could always be found. On weekends, when the weather was good enough, he would walk to Ueno Park. There, although one had to distance oneself from Sunday walkers and tourists, the company of silent trees was quite enjoyable. Between classes, Chris and he would often settle near the Sanshiro Pond, even if the rest of the students had begun the same migration as them, and the silence became less pronounced, the place remained quite pleasant.
That afternoon, Kuroo took longer than usual to recover from the nap he had taken on the grass, and it was only because Chris had vigorously shaken him that he finally got up. Unfortunately, he soon had to return to the biology building to listen to his microbiology professor debate the differences between bacteria and archaea.
As they passed by the pond, he recognized the silhouette sitting on a flat rock right at the water's edge. A smile spread across his lips as he felt his heart lift with sparkling euphoria.
"Wait, I'll be right back!" he told Chris before heading towards the pond.
He approached slowly, as if he had to approach a creature that might fly away at the slightest draught. Once next to him, he leaned forward and whispered:
"What are you reading?"
Akaashi turned. A smile spread across his lips when their eyes met.
"Les Fleurs du mal, by Baudelaire, a French poet."
"Hmm, I forgot I was dealing with an intellectual."
Akaashi raised an amused eyebrow.
"What were you doing here if it wasn't to read poetry by the water?"
"Napping."
"A perfectly acceptable pastime."
"Isn't it!"
They continued to chat for a few minutes. The sun's rays caressed Akaashi's black hair, the light flickering like golden beads. After a while, Kuroo remembered that he had left the blond behind. When he turned his head, the latter was waiting where he left him. He waved at him, inviting the blond to join them.
"A friend?"
"Yes, wait, I'll introduce you."
Once at their height, Chris nodded, a gesture reciprocated by the brunet.
"Akaashi, let me introduce you to Chris, Chris, Akaashi. You know, he's the one who rescued me when I arrived."
"Rescued is perhaps a bit much…"
"Come on, without you, I'm not sure I would have made it home before the next morning."
Akaashi rolled his eyes but said nothing.
"Oh, I remember! Chris also speaks German! You can talk to each other and… Chris, speak to him."
The one called turned his attention back to them. Kuroo had to repeat himself, but the request seemed to unsettle him.
"In what?" Chris asked hesitantly.
"Your native tongue! He'll understand!"
"Hmm… Are you sure?"
"Yes! Come on, man!"
Chris hesitated, but eventually turned to Akaashi before starting to speak in a language Kuroo did not understand at all. Akaashi seemed more confused than anything else and turned his gaze to Kuroo.
"Hmm, Kuroo-san. Although it sounds like it, this isn't German…"
Kuroo frowned, perplexed. As he was about to speak again, Chris spoke up. The sound of his words had slightly changed, and Kuroo saw the confusion of the brunet vanish instantly as he replied, in a linguistic melody that seemed to harmonize with the blond's.
They exchanged like this for a few seconds before Akaashi laughed. He gave Kuroo a look tinged with amusement.
"Kuroo-san, your friend is not German, you know that?"
"What?!"
He turned to his friend, conveying his confusion as the latter simply shrugged.
"Where are you from then?"
"Luxembourg."
"That's not in Germany ?"
Akaashi let out a light laugh.
"No, Kuroo-san, it is a country."
Chris nodded.
"What? Where?"
"Between Belgium, France, and Germany," the blond replied.
Kuroo remained silent for several seconds.
"Damn… I'm really bad at geography…"
Chris said nothing, but a slightly mocking smile spread across his lips.
"But you told me you speak German!"
"I do. I also speak French, English, and Luxembourgish."
Kuroo was left speechless. The information, however, seemed to delight Akaashi, who resumed talking with Chris, in a language still unknown to Kuroo's ears. He watched them converse, without understanding what they might be saying. Something was disturbing but pleasant about hearing Akaashi's voice roll so strangely, changing the melody of his voice and the rhythm of his words. However, they were cut off when Akaashi's phone started vibrating.
"Oh, it is my alarm. I am afraid I have to go back," he announced, quickly packing up his things.
He straightened up immediately.
"I hope to see you again very soon."
And he walked away quickly.
"Uh… Yes, see you later," Kuroo greeted him in turn, a bit taken aback by this hasty departure.
His gaze remained fixed on the thicket behind which the beautiful brunet had disappeared, before falling back on Chris.
"So… You're not German."
Chris let out a smirk and shook his head.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Kuroo," he added, teasing.
He came to sit next to the brunet.
"It's nothing; I just looked like a fool, but that's okay."
Chris vaguely nodded. He looked at him for a moment silently, before blurting out:
"You like him, right?"
"What? Why would you say that!" he replied, trying his best not to blush like a high school girl.
"I don't know… He seems to like you too."
"Come on, stop bullshiting me!" Kuroo hurriedly replied; in English, this time allowed him to appear more detached than he really was.
The blond raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, and apparently amused by the brunet's behavior.
"Alright, Alright, if you say so…"
Kuroo turned his eyes to the lake, indicating that the discussion was over. However, one detail bothered him:
"Why do you say that?"
"Why?"
"Yeah, about him, like... you know, what you just said."
"What I just said?"
"Oh come on! That he likes me! How do you know?"
"Oh! Hmm… The way he looked at you, I don't know."
Kuroo rolled his eyes before letting himself fall backward to lie down, saving himself from enduring his colleague's gaze any longer.
"Between Akaashi-san and the Greek god from the gym's showers, you're doing well, Kuroo-san."
This man was definitely set on persecuting him! Moreover, he had never disclosed his preferences to him, but the blond seemed to have figured it out on his own (the most improbable thing was thinking he was discreet enough for anyone to not have notice it sooner).
"We should go; it's almost time, right?" Kuroo asked to put an end to this discussion.
"Yes, we should hurry if we want to be there on time."
They both got up simultaneously, but Chris leaned over to pick up something that had fallen to the ground before handing it to the brunet. Kuroo discovered it was the book Akaashi had been reading earlier.
"He forgot his book..."
"Oh... here, I'll give it back to him."
The blond let him take it, but Kuroo couldn't miss his teasing smile.
"What?"
"It's in French... If you want, I can translate some of it for you, and you can serenade him with some French poems."
Certainly, this guy wanted his death. A heart attack: the perfect crime, no murder weapon, no signs of struggle, nothing that could betray any malicious intent... Cunning indeed. But he hadn't said his last word!
"When you'll learn poems in Japanese, I'll learn them in French."
"Maybe I already know some."
"Well, go ahead, let's hear it then."
Chris put on his most serious expression and began reciting haikus. Kuroo couldn't help but burst into laughter. However, the blond didn't stop and continued with the haikus, some of which became so improbable that Kuroo suspected they must have been invented on the spot. He only stopped when they were settled in the lecture hall.
As he was taking out his belongings from his bag, Kuroo brushed against the edge of the book. He let out a smile and picked it up, discreetly flipping through the pages. Chris had given him a good idea; maybe he would ask him to translate some pages after all...
-/-
It was 3:35 PM when Akaashi arrived at Fukuro the next day. He hated being late, but his Modern literature professor retained them far too long. He walked behind the counter, a bit breathless. Only Kai-san was there at the moment, unaffected by his tardiness, merely nodding vaguely when he apologized.
"Oh, Akaashi-san," Kai intervened as the brunet was about to head towards the locker room to leave his belongings, "someone came by for you earlier."
"Oh? Who was it?" Akaashi asked, distracted.
"The young man who came to see you last time."
Kuroo-san. Akaashi pretended not to react and remained silent.
"He came to return this," his colleague indicated, handing him a book.
Surprised, Akaashi took it; it was his copy of "Les Fleurs du mal." He thought he had misplaced it and was quite pleased to have it back, especially since he had annotated most of the pages for his literature class.
"I must have left it by the pond... I will thank him later. Thank you, Kai-san."
Kai nodded and returned to work without asking further questions. After what happened last time, Akaashi was relieved that his other colleagues weren't around; he wouldn't have been able to avoid their teasing if that were the case.
As he crossed the door to the locker room, he noticed a torn piece of paper, wedged between two pages of the returned book. Intrigued, he opened it at the marked spot. Across the paper, calligraphed with a writing he wasn't familiar with yet, he read:
"I didn't know you met Baudelaire."
Nothing more. Akaashi frowned, perplexed by the nebulous nature of the message. It was only when he removed the piece of paper from the book that he discovered its meaning. It took him a few seconds to process the information before feeling his cheeks flush. He smiled and was grateful to be the only witness because who knows what someone might read into it.
He placed the piece of paper back in its place, page 31. And he closed his book on this poem: "Hymn to Beauty."
-end of the chapter-
Next chapter: The comeback of Hercule mercury
"Kageyama just told me there's a party on campus this weekend."
Kuroo almost jumped when he heard Chris's voice so close to him. Too much information at once: how had he managed to get so close without him noticing, and then Kageyama? Inviting them to a party?
Hinata, who apparently followed the conversation, started signing with overflowing enthusiasm. After a good minute, the redhead finally stopped and turned his eyes to his mate for him to translate:
"He's asking if you're coming."
A very brief, yet undoubtedly effective summary.
"Yeah, when is it ?"
"Saturday night," Kageyama answered.
Two days.
Kuroo felt a thrill of sparkling excitement running through him. This would be his first uni party of the year in Tokyo, and he hoped it would be memorable.
And damn, it was.
See ya!